1. Large whalebone whale with long flippers noted for arching or humping its back as it dives
   "The humpback whale's haunting song carried through the ocean";
   - humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
    
2. An abnormal backward curve to the vertebral column
   "The humpback condition was a result of years of poor posture";
   - kyphosis, hunchback
    
3. A person whose back is hunched because of abnormal curvature of the upper spine
   "The humpback struggled to find comfortable clothing that fit properly";
   - hunchback, crookback [archaic]
    
4. A species of anadromous fish in the salmon family, native to Pacific and Arctic coastal waters, characterized by its light-coloured flesh and pronounced hump in males during spawning
   "The fishery relies heavily on the biennial runs of humpback";
   - Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, pink salmon, humpback salmon
    
5. [Brit, informal] A bridge with a steep rise in the middle, often found on older roads
   "Drivers slowed down to carefully navigate the humpback";
   - humpback bridge [Brit]

Derived forms: humpbacks

Type of: baleen whale, cripple, genus Oncorhynchus, Oncorhynchus, spinal curvature, whalebone whale

Part of: genus Megaptera, Megaptera

Encyclopedia: Humpback